Caribou Gear Tarp

Salute to a Marine

Big Fin

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As most of you know, I enjoy taking older hunters out on trips they probably never thought they would get to do. In past seasons, we have tried to take at least one hunter per year. Sometimes it works and sometimes we can't fit it in the schedule.

This year, that person will again be my buddy Bernie; extremely accomplished hunter, former Marine with a recon unit in Vietnam, owner of a new knee and new hip since he last joined us in Season Two of OYOA, and owner of a multitude of scars to commemorate his three back surgeries since that last hunt.

Bernie was finishing up the last of his chemo this winter when I stopped by to see how he was doing. He told me his hunting days were slipping through his hands and there was not much he could do about it. Really a bummer to see a guy who has hunted so many places, taken so many species, including two grand slams of sheep, resolve that his rifles may have fired their last shots.

I told Bernie of the Mobility Impaired hunts in NM. He kind of brushed it aside. I told him if he drew, I would take him down there for the hunt, whether he drew the elk or antelope that I was suggesting he apply for. He decided he would do antelope, worried that he could not handle and elk hunt. So, I helped him decide on units I knew were good and where I had some experience.

When the draw results came out, Bernie was holding the one non-guided non-resident antelope tag for this unit. I think I was as excited as he was amazed; maybe dumbfounded would be a better word, given his disbelief when I told him of the results.

The burden fell to me. It was up to me to start planning, E-scouting, and getting him ready for the hunt. The last two weekends at the range give me no doubt that when the time comes, he will close the deal.

Seeing him hobble with a cane in one hand, a walking staff in the other, flinging his right foot forward due to the loss of sensation created by the neuropathy of chemo treatments, is tough. Watching how inflexible he is due to surgeries that have fused his bottom three vertebrae together, tells me that we have our work cut out to find a buck, get close enough for a shot, and then get Bernie down into a shooting position.

Bernie cannot sit and shoot. When he sits in my truck, he almost has the seat fully reclined; just how rigid his lower back is, so no chance he can sit to shoot a rifle. We will have to find a way for him to shoot upright (hard to be steady even with shooting sticks) or for me to help him get to a prone position that does not have a lot of grass obstructing his view/shot. His mobility impaired permit does allow him to shoot from a vehicle, but he refuses to do that.

Just driving around to inspect the areas today, I realized how bad his back is. When I would see a buck out his passenger side window, he can only turn to the right about 40 degrees. He cannot look a full 90 degrees out the window, so I would have to jockey the truck to a position where the buck was out his window, more forward to a line not behind the side view mirror.

Bernie warned me that this would be a challenge. I knew it would, but given what I see in this completely flat ground that has no undulations, I think I may have underestimated that ask at hand; even more so when I see his difficulty walking across a parking lot, let alone a big prairie of 30" tall grass with uneven surface.

We saw some great bucks today. I hope we can find one of them that will hang around, maybe even take a nap, in a location where Bernie can get his broken down body to a shooting position.

Only ten tags, so the competition should not be a huge issue. Our goal is to find a buck that is hanging in an area he can navigate. I have brought my cow decoys, so if I carry all of his stuff and go really slow, picking the least challenging terrain, I think he could make it a couple hundred yards without us being too much of a circus and blowing the buck out of the country.

It is hard to explain why I am so committed to seeing older hunters get their chances. Yes, I am very committed to seeing new hunters to the fold. Just something about the pleasure of sharing time with very experienced hunters who are know their hunting days are limited, listening to the great stories, and knowing how much they appreciate someone taking time and interest to help them keep the hunting fires burning.

Inside the heart of a hunter is this special place where both hunter and helper understand and appreciate the unique feeling to be part of this experience. No words are necessary to explain to the other, just a smile and the ever-present appreciation for special times, in special places, shared with special people.

Odometer says it was 1,184 miles to get here. Hope to make the best of it.

A few bucks from Day One.
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Bernie deserves this so much. I truly hope everything comes together and we will be reading or watching an incredible ending to this story. Goat or no goat, what courage this guy is showing in not letting his obstacles stand in the way of his passion for hunting. Success either way in my opinion, but what an accomplishment it would be for him to wrap his hands around the horns of another animal. I'd say he's got the right guy helping him to get it done. I thank Bernie for his sacrifices and wish him well through the hardships he's facing.
 
Scouting of Day 2 was good. Spent a lot of time looking at a big buck. Hard to tell if it was the same buck as we spotted the first day; the second buck pic in post #1. The heat waves out on these big grasslands make it almost impossible to define anything further than 400 yards.

If it was not the same buck, then there are two really nice bucks in the same area. Checked out most every part of the unit that contained any public land. The area we focused on is all State Trust Lands, which are open to public hunting in New Mexico.

Hot, hot, and hot. Even at 7,000'. The intensity of the sun at this elevation is extreme. Thank God for sun screen.

Bernie and I practiced the drill of how we would get him out here and get him a steady shooting rest. It was decided that he could sit in this folding chair, so long as his right leg could stick way out. He looked really uncomfortable in such.

With a tripod out in front for a rest, Bernie felt pretty comfortable in the chair, with the Howa rested out in front on the tripod. Our goal would be to find a shot 200 yards or less. Any further and the set up was just too unstable.

Randy's responsibility is to carry the chair, the tripod, and the rifle, all the while hiding the procession of me, Bernie, and the camera guy behind a Moo Cow decoy. My MR pack works good for strapping on the chair and the tripod. Using the Kifaru gun bearer, I can also carry the rifle in a manner that leaves both hands free to navigate the cow decoy. Looks crazy and is very loud and clumsy, but is the only option, given Bernie's determination to not shoot one out the truck window.

Mike, the camera guy, showed up around 5pm. Nothing like an airplane delay in Dallas to make things a little interesting. Glad he arrived when he did. It allowed some good footage of bucks in the evening.

When hunting antelope, I have a strategy that has worked many times. Especially when I am targeting a specific buck when there are plenty of other hunters around. In this case, most every tagholder was cruising the state lands in preparation for opening day.

I do this - I stay with the chosen buck, until it is so dark, I can no longer see. As some call it, "Put 'em to bed." Unless disturbed by predators, antelope do not travel very far at night. In my experience, come morning, antelope will most always be within 300 yards of where I left them the night before.

I then go out, well before sun up, opening morning. The idea is to be right there, in the dark, waiting for the sun to rise. Within the first half hour of sun rise, the antelope will rise from their beds. Often, it is like a Jack-In-The-Box, where you see them pop up out of the vegetation, shake and do their morning stretch.

I surmise that antelope do not have that good of night vision. Thus, their main sense of detection is compromised. I not only form this opinion from how little they travel at night, but also how close I can get to them in the low light times that are the first and last half hours of shooting light. Seems they are not quite as sharp-eyed when the light is dim.

So, with that, the buck was put to bed. He was about 600 yards off the road. He had a few does with him. I spotted some other bucks even further off, and one of them seemed to be very good. Just cannot tell how good. Either way, the location to be on opening morning is well defined.

Some more pics of bucks on Day Two of scouting. Tomorrow is the opening day.

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You are an exceptional human being Randy.
Thanks to Bernie for his service and I hope he has fun!
 
Good luck Randy and Bernie! As I type this that buck doesn't even know he has just hours to live.
 
Good deal Randy! I'm definitely going to watch this thread and am pulling for you guys!
You did make an error on the second paragraph though, although the title is true. Bernie isn't a "former" Marine. No such thing! ;).

Thank you Randy for taking him on this hunt. When he said that his hunting was about over, you thought otherwise!
Thank you Bernie for your service! Can't thank you enough!
 
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Good luck Randy and Bernie. I hope you get a chance at one. It sure looks green up there compared to years past.
 
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